Thursday 3 November 2022 05:28 PM Gabby Petito's parents file wrongful death lawsuit against cops after 'sloppy ... trends now
Gabby Petito's parents officially filed a wrongful death suit against the Moab police department, alleging their negligent police work led to her death.
The explosive suit claimed that Moab police failed to adequately intervene when they pulled over Petito and Brian Laundrie after reports of domestic abuse between the couple.
The lawsuit, obtained by The Sun, alleged that responding officer Eric Pratt had an admitted history of intentionally finding 'loopholes' while responding to cases because he didn't want to do the requisite paperwork that properly handling incidents would require.
It also claimed Pratt had a history of violent domestic abuse himself, citing an ex-lover who claimed he threatened to kill her with a crowbar.
The Moab Police Department rebuked the allegations in a statement to DailyMail.com, saying the Petito family was suggesting their officers could 'see into the future based on a single interaction.'
The Department did not comment on the allegations about Pratt's history.
Plans for the lawsuit were first announced in August. The Petito family is seeking $50million in damages.
Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito. The suit was filed by Petito's family, and asks for $50million in damages
The suit also alleges that responding officer Eric Pratt had an admitted history of shirking police duty to avoid doing paperwork
Gabby Petito's mother. The $50million lawsuit was first announce last August, nearly a year after Gabby's murder
The lawsuit stated that officers failed to 'recognize the obvious indicators of abuse' during the August 2021 traffic stop in Moab.
Had police done their due diligence, the suit stated, 'it would have been clear to them that Gabby was a victim of intimate partner violence and needed immediate protection.'
Bystanders had called 9-11 to report that they'd seen Laundrie 'hitting' and 'slapping' Petito on the sidewalk outside a restaurant. Cops then pulled the couple over after seeing their van driving erratically out of town.
When interviewing the couple Petito appeared in a state of panic, crying and hyperventilating throughout, while Laundrie was full smiles as he gave conflicting accounts of the fight they'd had.
Charges were not filed, with officers ultimately ruling that Petito was the 'primary aggressor' in the fight and the couple was separated for the night.
Laundrie strangled Petito to death in Wyoming two weeks later.
Gabby Petito during the Moab police stop. The lawsuit alleges she exhibited clear signs of being a domestic abuse victim
Laundrie was full smiles during the police stop, but gave conflicting accounts of the fight he and Gabby had
The suit claimed that responding officers overlooked blatant signs that Laundrie was abusing Petito, including evidence of 'the violent nature of Brian's attack' which led to the traffic stop.
'The photo shows that Gabby's face was grabbed across her nose and mouth, potentially restricting her airway,' the suit said.
It also points that Petito exhibited 'classic hallmarks of an abused partner' when answering officers' questions during the stop.
'[Gabby was] attempting to take the blame for the fight because she had hit Brian first and did not want to be separated from him,' the suit said. 'Whether for lack of training or refusal to follow their training, the officers did not press further.'
The pair had been traveling on a cross-country trip together, starting on July 2, when
